National fine food producers encouraged to benchmark products as the Sydney Royal Fine Food Show opens for entries with new competition classes announced

The Sydney Royal Fine Food Show has unveiled a refreshed program for 2026, announcing a series of competition updates, new classes, and a renewed focus on industry relevance as it calls for entries into the nation-wide competition.

This year’s competitions will run for a four-week period in August as a result of the increased number of entries over the past few years.

Run by the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW (RAS), the competition supports Australian producers across the aquaculture, olives and oil, professional bakery, branded meats, smallgoods and charcuterie, specialty foods, and pasta sectors by providing an opportunity to benchmark their products against competitors and receive personalised feedback from industry experts. 

Sydney Royal Fine Food Show Committee Chair Michael Bullen said the team are constantly evolving the competitions to ensure it aligns with consumer trends and remains beneficial for producers.

“We are excited to announce some changes to this year’s Sydney Royal Fine Food Show, bringing in new classes into the competitions and evolving classes where needed,” Bullen said.

“Some of these key changes include the introduction of the new gluten-free class in Professional Bakery, and the expansion of our aquaculture competition, with new classes in smoked and cured products.

“As a fine food show, our goal is to create a competition that the industry genuinely values and trusts. One that not only recognises excellence but also supports producers with meaningful feedback and opportunities to grow their business.”

Key changes to this year’s show include:

• Aquaculture
  The Sydney Royal Aquaculture Competition will split up its smoked or cured aquaculture class, creating two specific classes to better reflect the strength and diversity of the sector. These are:
• Smoked or Cured Farmed Salmon/Trout
• Smoked or Cured Farmed Aquaculture Product – Other
• Pasta and Professional Bakery
  In response to growing consumer demand, the Sydney Royal Professional Bakery Competition will introduce a new gluten-free class (in addition to the current gluten-free pasta class), while noodles will be rested from the Sydney Royal Pasta Competition for this year.
• Innovation and development

The competition will continue its support for industry development through its Innovation and Development class, offering a unique opportunity for producers to receive individual product feedback in their final stages of product development.

With entries now open, producers from across Australia are encouraged to enter the 2026 Sydney Royal Fine Food Competition and benchmark their products against the best in the country. Entries will close Wednesday, 10 June 2026. To find out more information or to enter, visit www.rasnsw.com.au/sydneyroyal

Key Dates 2026 Competition dates:

• Aquaculture: Friday 31 July 2026
• Branded Meat: Tuesday 4 & Wednesday 5 August 2026
• Professional Bakery: Thursday 6 & Friday 7 August 2026
• Smallgoods & Charcuterie: Wednesday 12, Thursday 13 & Friday 14 August 2026
• Specialty Foods: Tuesday 18, Wednesday 19 & Thursday 20 August 2026
• Pasta: Tuesday 25 August 2026
• Oil & Olives: Thursday 27 August 2026
• Sydney Royal Fine Food Awards Show (Champion winners announced): 15 September 2026
• Grape, Grain & Graze Festival:19 September 2026

Images: 2025 Sydney Royal Professional Bakery competition.
Image credit: Jones King Photography